Starting September 1, 2025, significant amendments to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation will take effect. These changes are designed to ensure greater transparency in the payment of bonuses, strengthen employee protections, and clarify several aspects of working conditions across various professions.

Clear Regulations for Bonus Payments

The new law introduces stricter rules governing how employers can establish and reduce employee bonuses. From now on, companies will be required to define all bonus-related procedures in their internal regulations or collective agreements.

These documents must include:

1. The types of bonuses provided to employees;
2. The criteria and performance indicators used to determine bonus eligibility;
3. The frequency of payments; and
4. The specific grounds for reducing or withholding bonuses.

Employers will no longer be able to reduce bonus payments at their discretion. Any reduction will only be permitted if an employee has received a disciplinary penalty during the same period for which the bonus is calculated. Furthermore, even in such cases, the total monthly salary — including reduced bonuses — may not be lowered by more than 20%.

If an organization has an active trade union, the employer must also take into account the union’s opinion before making any decision regarding bonus reduction. This process must follow the procedure established in Article 372 of the Labor Code.

Ensuring Fair and Transparent Pay Practices

The updated regulations aim to make employee compensation systems more transparent and consistent. In recent years, it has become common for some employers to classify part of an employee’s regular pay as a “bonus,” which could later be reduced or withheld without proper justification.

The new provisions are designed to eliminate such practices by clearly linking bonus payments to measurable performance indicators and documented results. This approach protects employees from unjustified pay cuts and ensures that bonuses serve their intended purpose — as a genuine incentive for high-quality work and productivity.

Additional Labor Code Amendments

Beyond bonus-related changes, the new law introduces several important updates concerning working conditions and employment arrangements. These include:

1. Revised regulations on work and rest schedules for transport workers and employees in physically demanding or specialized fields.
2. Establishment of acceptable physical workload limits for manual handling of weights to improve workplace safety.
3. Clarified provisions for part-time employment applicable to teachers, healthcare and pharmaceutical staff, and cultural sector workers.
4. Updated rules for contracts involving full financial liability and an expanded list of positions prohibited for minors.
5. New opportunities for teenagers aged 14 to 18 to work officially during school holidays, weekends, and public holidays, provided their employment is arranged through labor centers or registered student organizations.

Employment of minors will require written consent — either from the young employee (aged 15 or older), a parent or guardian (for ages 14 to 15), or, in the case of orphans or minors without legal guardians, from the relevant social authorities.

Promoting Fairness and Accountability

The forthcoming amendments represent an important step toward building a fair and accountable labor environment in Russia. By introducing transparent criteria for bonus payments and clarifying employment conditions, the law helps balance the interests of both employees and employers.

For employees, the changes provide additional guarantees of stable income and protection from arbitrary wage reductions. For employers, they create a clearer legal framework for managing compensation systems, reducing disputes, and fostering trust within the workforce.